Anderson still, obviously, gets a paycheck from the franchise. So it’s obvious that he knows which side to favor.

But he doesn’t mince words when he knocks Howard for considering a Shaq-like path out of “The Magic Kingdom.”

“I would like Dwight to speak up more,” Anderson said. “Leaders should speak up and take the good along with the bad. They say, ‘Be a man about it.’ Speak up. If there is something that needs to change (on the Magic) or some kind of players you’re interested in (having the team obtain), speak up.

“Superstars, they’re accountable for the good and the bad. Some people can handle that when everything is great but when rough times come about, they go and hide… Speak up. What are you scared of?”

Earlier this summer, Howard told Esquire Magazine he wants to end up in a larger market than Orlando.

“There’s more you can do in a bigger place.”

But Anderson scoffs at that larger-market wonderlust..

“All the sponsors, they know exactly where you are,” Anderson told Tomasson. “You don’t have to go to New York and Boston or LA or to (another) bigger market to get more exposure. Plus, if you go to one of those big markets like New York or LA, they’ve got other sports franchises. They’ve got movie stars. It’s not just you.

“In Orlando, you are the show. Besides Disney World, you are the show. What don’t you like about that? If I were in his shoes, I’d have everything (in Orlando)… The media down here is very generous in my opinion. If you go to one of those big-market places and you think the media is generous to you, you have another thing coming.”

The Spurs were fortunate that recent franchise players like David Robinson and Tim Duncan have been satisfied and in some cases even reveled in living in a smaller market.

Not many superstars have that attitude. And for that, Spurs Nation should be eternally grateful.